The dentate gyrus is a unique part of the brain because it is known for housing neurogenesis in the adult brain, a process which normally stops early in development. This makes the dentate gyrus an area of great interest, especially in combating neurodegenerative diseases. This area, as well as the entire nervous system, is composed of both neurons, which send and receive signals, and glial cells, which are responsible for supporting neurons. Glial cells including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and ependymal cells are present in both the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, while Schwann Cells are present only in the peripheral nervous system, and microglia are present only in the central nervous system. Apoptosis and autophagy are both processes which degrade and recycle materials. Autophagy degrades materials inside the cell, such as organelles and proteins, and uses lysosomes to carry out the process. Apoptosis consists of degrading old or damaged cells, and is known as programmed cell death. Many proteins affect these processes including Beclin-1, UC3, p62, and the BCL-2 family of proteins. […]

This study introduces the Epilet Band, an innovative wristwatch-like device employing machine learning algorithms to detect Convulsive Epileptic Seizures (CES) in real-time. Distinguished by its use of Federated Machine Learning (FML), it ensures maximum data privacy and minimal data transfer. The Epilet band uses the DAP (detection, avoidance and prevention) method and incorporates a carefully selected array of sensors– accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, light intensity sensor and a digital microphone– all integrated into the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense. This study developed a seizure generator that replicates the movement patterns observed during epileptic seizures. Utilizing the Edge Impulse training platform, a machine learning model is trained to recognize these seizures, continually refining its accuracy through retraining and remodeling processes. The Epilet Band works by differentiating epileptic seizures from day-to-day activities by detecting muscle movement patterns produced by the two actions. […]

Phytoplankton play a major role in marine ecosystem health. They form the base of aquatic food webs, but under conditions of nutrient loading and high stratification, they can develop into harmful algal blooms that produce toxins harmful to humans and wildlife. Ongoing phytoplankton blooms have been observed in Long Island’s (LI) coastal waters for the past half-century, but there is a lack of a comprehensive view of phytoplankton spatiotemporal distribution and their driving factors due to the analysis of specific sampling sites, species, and years. Thus, this study obtained 20 years of chlorophyll-a, climate, and nutrient remote sensing and in situ data from the ERDDAP data server and the CTDEEP Long Island Sound Water Monitoring Program to establish phytoplankton phenology using the threshold criterion and cumulative sum of anomalies methods and to investigate regional differences, influencing factors, and interannual trends using correlation and linear trend analysis. […]

Depression is a global mental health issue generalized by a decrease in mood and satisfaction. Treatments for individuals afflicted with depressive symptoms include prescribed medications that require diagnosis to acquire. The purpose of this investigation was to accurately assist psychiatrists in diagnosis procedures to prevent both false positive and false negative conclusions by utilizing machine learning on social media messages. This was done by training a machine learning algorithm which accurately predicted and detected depressive behaviors and communications. As social media messages encompass individual’s general communications among long periods of time with high consistency and frequency, social media messages were used as a method to both train an accurate and consistent machine learning model. Social media messages rely on self reported diagnoses. […]

Previous studies show that plants can recognize and respond to different sounds, such as insect-chewing and running water. Prior research demonstrated that plants can learn and respond to stimuli like touch; it is unclear if plants can have a conditioned response to sound. Our former study found that plants can recognize the sound of stream water (SW) and continue growing throughout drought. Experimentation aimed to investigate if Cucumis sativus plants can grow throughout drought when conditioned to associate non-water sounds to the sound of water. The hypothesis was that cucumber plants would respond to sounds besides SW after auditory conditioning. […]

Eutrophication affects 65% of coastal and 53% of freshwater regions in the US but no scalable cyanobacterial degradation methods exist. Piezocatalysis harnesses mechanical energy to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in water, which degrade organic pollutants by oxidation without generating toxic residues. This study designed a novel hydro-turbine using bluff bodies that maximize kinetic flow energy available for aquatic remediation via piezocatalysis. MoS2-doped films exhibited first-order ROS chain reaction production when agitated in Anabaena (20 μg/L), and has potential to inhibit cyanobacterial positive feedback growth by converting nitric products into reactive nitrogen species. The inverted piezo-active flag model was computationally optimized to enhance polarization with turbulent energy and ensure rapid charge dispersion with flow-induced vibrations. The 90° upstream triangle yielded maximum coefficients by effective flow separation (12.6 drag, 18.6 lift) and a flag length ratio of 0.75 was optimal while avoiding canceling zones. The optimized piezocatalytic hydro-turbine design yielded 78% remediation under 800gph for 60s (p=0.032). A minimum flow speed was identified by energy/order to be 0.5m/s, with 0.7W/(1g MoS2). Application depth of 0.3m-2m was identified with cyanobacterial concentration, turbulence needed for crossflow effectiveness, and speed; conditions are within industrial scalability standards. […]

This thesis studied the definition of a green building and the elements associated with the construction of sustainability. There are many rating systems available across the country both private and public. The most well-known is the LEED rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council. LEED has several rating programs now available. In this thesis, I will discuss why Green Building is more significant than conventional building and methods of Green Building like construction Phases. Conventional buildings produce high amounts of greenhouse gas, a large quantity of construction and demolition debris (which decrease landfill capacity), disturb natural resources, and consume much energy and water. Implementation of various simple and sustainable techniques practiced individually can help in many ways to create an environmentally friendly structure, consume minimal natural resources and at the same time be economical. This paper tries to study the Green Building construction method and innovative technologies that enable us to create a sustainable structure. It also includes design concepts of Green Building, methodology and materials requirements, and ideas and suggestions to create a checklist for a builder to refer to the various suggestions in every phase of construction of a general structure. […]

This experiment investigated how the sound of stream water affects the growth of Cucumis sativus plants under drought stress. Plants are known to be able to recognize vibrations (sounds). Additionally, plants limit their growth when they receive suboptimal amounts of water to preserve resources. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of varying durations of exposure (0.5, 2, and 3 hours) to the sound of stream water on the growth of Cucumis sativus plants across shoot length, leaf width, leaf number, and wet/dry mass under controlled drought stress. This research aims to further the understanding of bioacoustic influence on plants, exploring the use of sound treatment as a practical agricultural technique to improve crop resilience to drought. Four groups of 10 plants were germinated, with 3 experimental groups treated with the sound of stream water for different amounts of time (0.5, 2, or 3 hrs; control group had 0 hr). […]

The current scientific understanding of adolescent depression is incomplete, requiring further research and attention. This review of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in the context of adolescent depression seeks to inform adolescents about the mechanisms in which SSRIs affect the body, common side effects associated with this class of antidepressants, and the efficacy rates of SSRIs in their population group. This review also underscores the gaps in research regarding both adolescent depression and adolescent antidepressant usage. When considering the use of prescription drugs, especially ones that have large implications towards neurological function, it is essential to understand all facets of the medication. This review provides adolescents and their families with direct information that will inform their thinking about SSRI use. This review considers academic and popular sources in collating evidence for the impact and efficacy of SSRIs on adolescents. […]

The "Q-Collar" is a device designed to mitigate head injuries, particularly in scenarios such as contact sports and military operations where trauma to the head is a significant risk. It operates by exerting an external compressive force on the jugular veins, which effectively increases blood volume within the brain to counteract the "slosh" effect—that is, the movement of the brain within the skull during sudden impacts. The research documented in this literature review investigates the Q-Collar's efficacy by examining various clinical studies, as well as animal models, to understand its role and proven effects on reducing head trauma. This review includes 21 studies that were identified through a literature search using keywords related to "Jugular Vein Compression Collar" in the PUBMED database. […]